GreenTransitions Building Technologies, Resources & Homesites Page

GreenTransitions Building, Land & Homesites Resources

Click here for steps you can take in your home to reduce your energy costs (and footprint) now.

Building Technologies & Resources:
Green Home Building -- Sustainable architecture and natural building.
Green Builder -- Sustainable Sourcebook.
Building Material Energy Content -- What building material takes the least energy to manufacture? (building material's embodied energy)
Rastra.com -- the original Rastra
Earth Friendy Building Materials -- Preform wall panel system
Eco-Block -- Insulated Concrete Forms.
Thermo Shelter -- Stressed metal over EPS buildings
Underground Housing
SubSurface Buildings
Davis Caves-- Earth-Sheltered Home Construction.
Earth Sheltered Technology, Inc.
Earth Shelter Resources -- Malcom Well's site.
FerroCement Network -- Paul Sarnstrom's Ferrocement network
FerroCement Construction -- Garrett Connelly's Ferrocement site with examples and photos
International Thin Shell Association
The Last Straw -- Resources for strawbale and natural building
Strawbale Central -- Natural Building Resources
Totally Solar-Heated House
Pacific Yurts
The Yurt People
Shelter Systems
Your Home Planet -- Environmental Building Design and Construction Portal.
ADPSR -- Architects / Designers / Planners for Social Responsibility.
Berkeley's Green Resources Center -- Look at the materials reference especially!
The Natural Home -- Advice, with drawings; consultations available.

Sustainable design includes the consideration of the embedded energy content of the materials employed, transportation of materials and other resources to the site, the permanence of the structure (one that has to be rebuilt every 20-70 years due to deteriation or to incompatibility with natural disasters such as fire, earthquake, etc. is not trully sustainable due to continued resource use), and the manner in which the structure fits the environment it is built within (landuse, waste disposal, etc.).

Water / Wells / Waste Water Management:
Well Construction Guidelines
USGS Groundwater Resources
Penngrove / Groundwater Resource Links
Carol Steinfeld -- Composting toilet Diva!
ClivusMultrum -- The original composting toilet
Aquatron -- The Swedish Aquatron waste separation system (allows conventional low-flow and separation of waste storage/treatment)
EcoToilets

Caring for the Land:
Keyline Designs -- Ken Yeoman's quintessential Keyline work.

Other Homestead-Related Technological Resources:
Homestead Enterprises -- Steven Heckeroth's solar innovations.
Electric Tractor -- Steve Hekeroth's electric tractor.

Finding Your Way:
Click here for some for considerations if you are thinking about buying land and starting your own homestead.
TerraServer -- A unique resource in topographic and aerial imagery of anywhere in the US.
TopoZone -- Topographic maps of the US.
Delorme Map Products -- Great topographical-based state maps and more.
Solar PathFinder -- Must-have tool for solar site analysis.
Land Buying Tips -- An excerpt from the book "Back to the Farm" on buying rural property (good points to keep in mind!).
Carla Emery's 'Encyclopedia of Country Living -- A 'must-have' for any homesteader!

You may also wish to read the book Living the Good Life (60 years of Self-sufficient Living) by Helen and Scott Nearing -- much of their reason for homesteading in the late 1920s are becoming issues again today...

Financing:
1st Priority Financing (Ukiah, CA [USA]) -- Terry Phenicie specializes in off-the-grid and alternative building financing nationwide!

Workshops:
Permaculture Institute of Northern California
Solar Living Institute
Emerald Earth
Cob Cottage Company
Cob Works
Kleiwerks
Canelo Project
Ground Works
Earthwood Building School
FoxMaple School of Traditional Building
Yestermorrow Design/Build School

Books, Publications & On-line Resources:
Dirt Cheap Builder -- Good book/guide source for building.
Chelsea Green Booksellers -- Another good book/guide source, this one for sustainable living.
Home Power Magazine
Mother Earth News
Sustainable Oklahoma
Idaho Freedom -- Independent living and homesteading resources.
Journey to Forever / Handmade Projects
Society of Primitive Technology
BackWoods Publications

Places to Buy:
RealGoods / Gaiam
Eco-Mall -- Green products and resources.
Green Home -- Green products and resources.
Lehman's -- Source for old-fashioned hard-to-find items.

Architecture / Homestead Sites:
FrankelSalisbury Family Homestead -- Cast Earth.
Cast Earth -- Other Cast Earth homes linked here.
Raven Rocks
Redwood Forest Institute -- Click on the link to Charles Bello's house designs
Forestier's Hand-dug House in Fresno
Passive Annual Heat Storage Home
EarthShip -- Earthship Biotecture (explore the 'systems' page!)
l’habitat lovagien -- Antti Lovag's designs that meld into nature (Maritime Alps of France)
Ferro Cement Designs -- Gaudi would be proud!
Flying Concrete -- Steve Kornher lightweight concrete designs
GreenHomeBuilding / PumiceCrete -- more Steve Kornher work!
CloudHidden Design -- Jim Kaslik thin shell construction & consulting
Lloyd Turner's Thin shell home
Bill Lishman's underground Home
Liquefaction -- The Underground home site.
Ferro Water Tanks -- Look further into the links for Peter's design work
Cal-Earth -- Nader Khalili's work with coiled adobe, etc.
Green Home Building
James Hubbell's Site
Arcosanti -- A laboratory of the urban future headed by architect Paolo Soleri.
Tumbleweed Houses -- For something different!

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